By Elin Spring
Can you think of any set of beliefs more unifying or divisive than identity? Our personal, cultural and national identities often nurture a sense of pride and belonging. But through the ages, it has also fueled terror, violence, and war. In a nation that knows all too well the lessons of Nazi Germany, far-right radicalism is rearing its ugly head once again. Germany is second only to the United States as a destination for immigrants, a familiar pathway to ethnic tensions and extremist ideologies. In a powerhouse exhibition at Harvard Art Museums in Cambridge, MA, “Made in Germany? Art and Identity in a Global Nation” takes stock of the turbulence building in modern-day Germany through the lens of its art since 1980. Striking eerie parallels to our own nation, the primarily photographic and videographic exhibit will be on view through January 5th, 2025. A smart exhibit catalog and lively slate of onsite and online public programming accompany the show.

Marc Brandenburg, Untitled, 2003, Graphite on paper (from photographic negative), courtesy of The Museum of Modern Art, New York. The Judith Rothschild Foundation Contemporary Drawings Collection Gift, 2005. ©Marc Brandenburg
National identity has always been a moving target, continuously re-constructed by events such as revolution, war and migration. Made in Germany? concentrates on a narrow slice of German history – from 1980 to today – and through the artistic expressions of its multicultural residents, tells a complex and nuanced story of its most recent “identity crisis.” Through the absorbing narratives in the exhibit, curator Lynette Roth lets us sense how Germany’s restless transformation is mirrored across the globe and throughout time.

Nevin Aladag, Best Friends Dortmund #4, 2012, photograph, Harvard Art Museums/Busch-Reisinger Museum, Antonia Paepcke DuBrul Fund. ©Nevin Aladag
Who are Germans today? When we see “Made in Germany,” who does that represent? As implied by the deliberate question mark in the exhibit title, that definition is experiencing a radical shift. Three major events have accelerated the process: the unification of East and West Germany in 1990, formation of the European Union in 1993, and Chancellor Angela Merkel’s 2015 opening of Germany to a massive influx of migrants, primarily from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Feature Image: Katharina Sieverding, Deutschland wird deutscher XLI/92, 1992. Pigment transfer on metal in a steel frame. Harvard Art Museums/Busch-Reisinger Museum, Gift of the German Friends of the Busch-Reisinger Museum in honor of Markus Michalke, 2024.1. © Katharina Sieverding. (installation view by Elin Spring)
The resulting upheavals are exemplified by Katharina Sieverding’s 1992 mural-sized, instantly controversial and now iconic photograph at the entry (above and feature image). The words “Deutschland wird Deutscher” (“Germany becomes more German”) are an incendiary phrase taken from a newspaper article about mounting fears of further economic downturn on the eve of joining the European Union. In the midst of alarming anti-immigrant violence in the newly unified country, this composite image of the artist’s face surrounded by knives asked what it might mean for the country to become “more German” and raised such a reaction to its implicit warning against nationalism that its multi-site public installations were scrubbed. Unfortunately, Sieverding’s monumental statement has retained its relevance today.

Corinne Wasmuht, Collagen (Collages), 1986-2001, mixed media on white paper, courtesy of Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, MA. ©Corinne Wasmuht (installation view by Elin Spring)
Perhaps the defining characteristic of national identity is people’s sense of connection. The exhibit is rife with examples of bonds fervently sought, boldly forged or painfuly absent. In a series of vibrant, photographically-based Collagen (Collages) created between 1986 – 2001, West German-born Corinne Wasmuht thematically juxtaposes historical moments. In one, images of violence are layered with those of negotiations, questioning which approach achieves the desired effect.

Ulrich Wüst, Hausbuch (House Book), 1989 – 2010, Leporello in cardboard envelope, 172 photographs (color photographs on PE Paper; Black and white photographs on baryta paper) on cardboard, courtesy Harvard Art Museums/Busch-Reisinger Museum, Gift of the German Friends of the Busch-Reisinger Museum, Cambridge, MA. ©Ulrich Wüst (installation view by Elin Spring)
The photographs in East German-born Ulrich Wüst’s expansive accordion Hausbuch (House Book, 1989 – 2010) trace the lives of inhabitants across generations. His colorful, curious catalogue of objects that he found in consecutive homes in the East German countryside are a masterful typology of connections.

Hans-Christian Schink, A 38, Brücke Schkortleben (1), from the series Traffic Projects German Unity (1995-2003), chromogenic print, Harvard Art Museums/Busch-Reisinger Museum, Gift of the artist. ©Hans-Christian Schink
East German-born architectural photographer Hans-Christian Schink’s Traffic Projects German Unity (1995-2003) literally picture the construction of public works connecting East and West Germany. In a construction project intended to offer both jobs and hope, Schink’s stunning combination of bold graphics, muted palette and absence of people or cars create a far different mood. As art historian Matthias Flügge writes, “the element of incompletion, the sense of open-endedness and precariousness that the (structures) emanate despite their sculptural monumentality, conveys an idea of the stresses and strains still affecting the process of unification.”

Sibylle Bergemann, Das Denkmal (The Monument), 1975 – 1986, photographs, Harvard Art Museums/Busch-Reisinger Museum, Gift of the German Friends of the Busch-Reisinger Museum. ©Sibylle Bergemann (installation view by Elin Spring)
The importance of viewpoint hits home in the trompe-l’oeil series Das Denkmal (The Monument, 1975-1986) by Sibylle Bergemann (b. Nazi Germany 1941 – d. 2010). Twelve B&W photographs depict various stages of construction for a bronze monument of Marx and Engels to be placed in East Berlin. In her series, commissioned by East Germany, Bergemann cleverly sequenced her photographs to leave open the question of whether the sculptures were being brought to their intended location or being dismantled and removed, underscoring the shifting identity of the country.

Candida Höfer, Türken in Deutschland (Turks in Germany, 1979), slide projection with 80 colour slides, 35 mm, Harvard Art Museums/Busch-Reisinger Museum, Francis H. Burr Memorial Fund. ©Candida Höfer
These examples are joined by many other affecting and influential works, created in a mixture of media by artists from diverse backgrounds and different generations. They are purposely organized in a non-chronological order to highlight the jumbled and often protracted nature of national transformation.

Henrike Naumann, Ostalgie. 2019, mixed media installation, courtesy Henrike Naumann. ©Henrike Naumann
In the forty-year span from Candida Höfer’s slide projection Türken in Deutschland (Turks in Germany, 1979) to Henrike Naumann’s fantastical, sideways room installation, Ostalgie (combination of “East” & “Nostalgia,” 2019), Made in Germany? manifests the artistic aftershocks of a nation undergoing ground-shaking changes. And through its focus on Germany, the presentation draws parallels to similar issues of immigration, polarization and conflict occurring around the world. Most certainly, it amplifies the current inflection point in our own national identity on the eve of an historic election.
For information about this exhibition, accompanying catalog and copious onsite and online public lectures, interviews, and film presentations, go to: https://harvardartmuseums.org/exhibitions/6286/made-in-germany-art-and-identity-in-a-global-nation